| Anstis, et al. (1985) have reported that under certain conditions the visual system adapts and the perception of apparent motion breaks down. The present research indicates that breakdown is actually a result of same-place mechanisms successfully competing with motion-detecting mechanisms. Thus, the perception of stationarity (with flicker) can occur at the start of a trial and spontaneously switch to the perception of motion, or vice versa. The response of same-place mechanisms depends on the zero-hertz energy at each location of an apparent motion stimulus, whereas the response of motion mechanisms depends on the time-varying energy. Average luminance, luminance contrast, the temporal symmetry of the apparent motion display, and relative phase are manipulated to investigate competition between same-place and motion-detecting mechanisms. |
